It's Never Over
by FLAMMING Guitar 98
Summary: SEQUAL TO SILVER AND GOLD It's been seven years since the two had spoken last, but the passion they felt for each other still burned some where inside of themselves. When Hermione's fiancé has to leave town to help the ministry with a Security breach in S
1. Chapter 1

Never Over

Sequal To When Grey Turns To Silver

Chapter 1- All This Time

A young couple was outside of King's Cross train station in the pouring rain, crying as they held each other. They didn't want to let go, but they had to.

The bushy-haired brunette was more admitting of her feelings. Her love for the boy she was holding was strong, and she didn't want to let go, but she knew she would have to. Tears were rolling down her face like a water-fall, and she dug her face into his chest, smelling his cologne, trying to re-kindle her memory of when they were together; happy, and in love.

The tall, blonde boy was also crying. Not hysterically like the girl he was in love with, but the tears were falling down his face. He knew he had to let go as well, but it was the last thing he wanted to do.

Hermione and Draco didn't want to give it up, but self-consciously, they knew it had to be done.

"No, you're not leaving me, I won't let you!" yelled Hermione.

"Hermione, no, please. This isn't easy for me either. It's been hell these past few weeks, but I have to do this. _We_ have to do this," said Draco. 

"No we don't! I _love_ you!" yelled Hermione. 

"I love you too, Hermione! I never said I didn't, but me loving you, and you loving me, it won't save us no matter how much we want it to!" yelled Draco.

He let go of Hermione, and grabbed his broom. He swung his leg over it, and gave one final glance at Hermione.

Hermione saw that his face was slightly tear-stained, and she allowed a few more tears to fall from her eyes as well.

"Goodbye, Hermione. I'm sorry for everything, I'll always love you, and I'll never forget you."

Draco began to zoom away, and Hermione stared at him, and began to scream,

"THIS ISN'T OVER! I PROMISE YOU, DRACO MALFOY, THIS ISN'T OVER!" 

Hermione shot up as if she had just been woken up by a loud noise. Yes, this is the same Hermione, but seven years older.

_Ugh, why do I still dream about that? It's over…_ thought Hermione. _That happened such a long time ago…_

Hermione looked at her clock, and it read six o'clock in the morning. She looked to her side to find her fiancé lying next to her sound asleep. 

Flashback

"Bye, Hermione, I'll write you, okay?" asked Ron as they got on to Platform 9 ¾.

"Okay, Ron. I'll write to you too. I promise," said a very emotionally shocked Hermione.

Ron gave Hermione a hug, and whispered in her ear, "I love you."

When he let go, Hermione stared at him for a moment, and Ron did the same, but he let go, and disapparted.

Back to reality

Hermione remembered that moment well. She was very confused at the time. She had just broken up with her loving boyfriend of two years, and certainly did not expect that to happen on their last day, but Hermione was glad it did.

Flashback

_Dear Ron…_ thought Hermione. She was nineteen at the time, and hadn't spoken to Draco since that day at Kings Cross, and she felt she was over it. But she _had_ spoken to Ron since that day, and began to fall for him.

_I think I've fallen in love with you. I'm serious too, this isn't one of our stupid jokes, I love you. If you don't believe me, contact me. Write to me, floo to my apartment, anything. I guess I'll understand if you don't feel the same way, but if you do, good. Hugs and kisses, Hermione. _

Yes, that sounded perfect! Nice and simple, some what stupid, but something that would fit Ron well. Hermione wrote it down, sealed the envelope, and gave it to her newly purchased owl at the time, Jasper.

"Give this to Ron, okay, Jasper? He's probably back from Scotland by now, he told me he would be yesterday. Just, go!" she yelled at her distracted owl. The grey eagle owl hooted, and flew out the window, some-what gracefully.

"Well, he's no Hedwig…" said Hermione to herself as she watched her owl fly off with her letter to Ron. 

Back to reality

And Hermione had no regrets about that day. Ron did floo to her apartment in Hogsmeade about an hour later, and the two shared a joyous reunion, as a couple.

One year later, he proposed.

And that brought us to where we are now. Still in Hermione's apartment, but Ron there as well. Ron was an Auror now, and Hermione was a healer at St. Mungo's. They were a highly successful and popular couple. Hermione looked down at the ring finger on her left hand, and saw the large ring Hermione was wearing, proving their engagement.

Hermione stared at Ron again, and sighed. _I do thank Draco for this…_ thought Hermione. _He was right, it was for the best._. 

Harry had woken abruptly as well, he had also dreamed something, but it was different. No romance, just a fearful dream. A dream that Harry knew would visit him forever for the rest of his life.

Everyone knew what happened, but they weren't sure _how._

The dream goes as follows:

The room was dark, but yet he could still see the eyes. He hated those eyes. Red, and snake-like. Looking into them sent shivers up Harry's spine, and burned his scar, almost with a passion.

Harry felt almost powerless. His wand was only limp in his hand, yet Voldemort didn't manage to seize it. So many people Harry had cared about: dead. Ginny, Neville, Dean, Seamus… all of them, dead.

And it was because of this slimy bastard. Right here.

The only ones on this mission who seamed to be alive were himself, Luna, Sam…

And Malfoy.

Malfoy was as good as dead though, he was bleeding at the hip, and could barely speak. Harry was the only one who knew that Malfoy was on the mission, let alone on their side.

"Come on…Potter… do it…" mumbled Malfoy.

"I don't know _how…_" whispered Harry as he kneeled by Malfoy's body.

"Think, Potter. What's the hardest magic you've ever done? Whatever that is ought to work…"

Malfoy had a point. The hardest magic… the hardest magic…

_Patronus!_

"How would _that_ work?" asked Harry. Malfoy didn't need an explanation, he knew Potter was thinking of a Patronus.

"I dunno, just try it…" breathed Malfoy. Harry nodded, and pointed his wand at Voldemort, who was standing in the middle of the room.

"What're you going to do to me, Harry? You can't _kill_ me, you know you can't use _my_ curse, what are you going to do with me?" hissed Voldemort.

"You're right, I can't, not with _your_ curse. I could lose, but I know that I could take a _chance…_" said Harry.

"Really? What 'chance' might _that_ be?" asked Voldemort.

_"EXPECTO PATRONUM!"_ bellowed Harry.

A large, white stag protruded from Harry's wand, and went after Voldemort. Voldemort screamed… screamed like he had actually seen what he looked like. 

When the stag vanished, Voldemort's body was limp on the ground.

_"Accio wand!"_ mumbled Harry. Voldemort's wand zoomed into his hand, and Harry saw that Voldemort didn't stir.

_"Accio weapons!"_ breathed Harry, but nothing came out of Voldemort's robes, or anything he was carrying.

_He's dead…_ thought Harry.

That is the dream, and how exact it was to what really happened.

Harry later learned from a newly imprisoned Peter Pettigrew that the reason that the Patronus had beaten Voldemort was because the body he used to resurrect Voldemort had actually been the body of a child Dementor.

Malfoy managed to get better quickly, and he was left with a scar as well, but it was only a long line across his chin. Harry promised he would never tell Hermione about what had happened to him, and Harry kept that promise. That promise was still unbroken.

That was six years ago.

Harry sat up, put on his glasses, and looked around the room. He glanced at his plaque for Honor of Merlin: First Class, as well as Witch Weekly's number one most heroic wizard of the nineties. Harry, also took a long, hard look at his picture of himself, Ron, and Hermione.

"Has it _really_ been all this time?"

Draco Malfoy, young but stressed, entered the living room of his new home that he had just recently bought in the country. He sold his former home after his parent's deaths, and had a new plantation-style home built in the English country-side. The peace and quiet was _exactly_ what he needed. His life hadn't exactly been peaceful since he left school.

Draco rubbed his chin. _I need to shave…_ he thought. He let his index finger trace the scar on his chin that he had gotten from the war, if you could call it a war.

_All for her…_ thought the young man.

He picked up the news paper sitting on the coffee table. He figured his ever-so faithful eagle owl must have brought it in for him. Draco picked up the paper, and saw a large photo of an engaged couple. Draco didn't think of this thoroughly until he saw who the bride to be was.

It was her. Her and that Weasley bloke were engaged. Draco was clueless to this fact, and read the article to learn more.

_Ms. Hermione Granger, world renowned healer at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, has been engaged to Auror, Mr. Ronald Weasley, for the past four years, but due to their want for financial success, the couple chose to put off their wedding._

The two had been friends since their first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and were often seen with one, Harry Potter. Although there was constant speculation to the rumor, Ms. Granger, along with Mr. Potter assure the **Daily Prophet** that there is absolutely no truth to the rumor of their supposed 'relationship' at school.

"Hermione and I had always been very close friends…" states Potter, "But I always knew that Hermione and Ron were meant to be."

The Weasley-Granger wedding is planned to be the event of the year, and there is a great chance that the **Daily Prophet** will be attending the wedding of two of the world's greatest heroes of the day.

Draco's eyes began to water at the sight of Hermione with Weasley. Of course, what else could Draco expect? Hermione could not hold on to him forever, just as he felt he had to let go also.

But there was a large part of Draco Malfoy that couldn't let go. His heart still pounded every time he saw a photograph of Hermione in the paper, for whatever reason. Every time he heard her name when making withdrawals at Gringotts, his head would turn sharply, but he always managed to turn away. He rubbed the scar on his chin again, and a time that seemed so recent dawned on him.

Flashback

"You did it, Potter," gasped Draco. Potter's head turned sharply to face Malfoy.

"He's dead! The slimy bastard is dead!" yelled Malfoy as he tried to get up, but his side began to pain him. Potter ran over, and levitated him.

"Come on, Malfoy. You need to get to St. Mungo's…" said Potter. The two apparated on the spot, and ended up right inside of the hospital. 

"I wonder if Hermione's on duty today," began Potter.

"She doesn't deal with cuts, does she?" asked Malfoy. Potter looked at Malfoy skeptically, and shook his head.

"No. She's a poisons and potions healer. She doesn't do these kinds of things unless it's an emergency," said Potter.

Malfoy was greeted by a Healer Abbot, he was sure he went to school with her, but didn't question it. She mended him up, and made it clear that the scar on his chin would always be there. Draco accepted the fact, and remained sitting for a moment longer along with Potter.

"Potter, before you go," began Draco as Potter attempted to speak with the Minister. "Just, please, don't tell Hermione about this. I don't want her bothered. She'll go mental."

Potter examined Malfoy once again, but nodded, and left to speak with Minister Bagman about the situation with the Dark Lord.

"All of it, for Hermione…" mumbled Draco to himself as he stood up to sign out of the hospital. 

Reality

_I wonder if he ever told her…_ thought Draco. He looked through his old photo album quickly to see if he could find any photographs of himself and Hermione. And he did. There was only one, and it was very obvious that the two had to take the picture themselves.

The two were giggling, Draco could see. Draco's arm seemed to be holding the photograph up, and Draco assumed that that was when he was holding the camera.

Hermione looked so young in that photo, and she had been so beautiful at the time. They were only seventeen at the time, and they were both twenty-four by now.

Draco then looked at the photo of Hermione in _The Daily Prophet_, and saw that she had only grown more beautiful. His heart pained him when he remembered their final meeting.

_I'll never forget you…_

And he certainly never did. Although Draco had many girlfriends since the war, none of them really _meant_ anything. Draco considered them as sort of a, sexual comfort. He wished he could figure out what it was that made him love Hermione so much, and if whatever it was as strong as he felt, why had he let her go? Why couldn't he be selfish like Hermione wished him to be? She had _begged_ and _pleaded_ for him to take her back, to love her. And no matter how much he wanted to, something still stopped him. Something told him it was better for Hermione.

_I still love her. Seven years, all this time…_ thought Draco.

Draco decided to cut out the picture of Hermione, leaving Weasley out of the photograph, and placed it right next to their photo of themselves as teenagers. 

Draco then threw the paper in the trash, and slammed the photo album shut. He then reached into his liquor cabinet, and took a swig of fire whiskey.

"Yep. Just _perfect,_" said Draco to himself as he took his swig of the slightly intoxicating beverage.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter2 - In Black And White

**In Black and White**

"Oh, darling, it looks wonderful!" cried Jill Granger as she watched her daughter twirl in her wedding gown at the bridal shop in Hogsmeade one July morning, about a week after their article in the _Daily Prophet_ was posted.

"Yes, it _is_ beautiful. I'm so glad I picked this one…" sighed Hermione as a large grin spread across her face.

Hermione couldn't believe she was getting married, to Ron nonetheless.

"Oh my _God!_" came the voice of Hermione's cousin, Jenna. 

"What is it, Jenna?" asked Hermione with a worried look on her face.

"I can't believe what Harry's saying here! Didn't you used to date this guy, Hermione?" asked Jenna. 

"Jen, I told you, I never dated Harry…"

"No, not _Harry,_ this guy! The one in the Prophet!" cried Jenna.

"Let me see that," said Hermione. Hermione snatched the paper out of cousin's hands, and gasped.

Hermione managed to trip off of the fitting stool, and she heard a loud tear, but wasn't very mindful of it. Hermione was too busy reading the article.

**POTTER TELLS; MALFOY BIG HELP.**

_Potter, today, mentions to _Daily Prophet_ reporter, Justine Smith, "If not for Draco Malfoy, I doubt I ever would've been able to figure out how to kill Volde- sorry, You-Know-Who."_

Draco Malfoy, Son of critically acclaimed Death Eater, Lucius Malfoy, never seemed to be the type to aid the Ministry rather than He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named himself. Potter assures us, "Malfoy's reasoning for helping the ministry is justifiable, to the human heart."

Hermione then looked at up the large school photo of Draco. Hermione saw the glint in his eye that she had almost forgotten, and looked down at the floor, completely unaware that she was on the ground, and that there was now a large tare in her dress. 

"Oh, Hermione, now it's ruined!" cried Jill Granger. Hermione looked at her mother with a sort of confusion.

"What? Oh, the dress. No problem mum, watch. _Reparo!_" 

Draco entered his living room once again to find the Daily Prophet sitting on his coffee table. Draco had been alone the night previous, and hoped to find company in the pub on the outskirts of town a little bit later. Draco lifted the Prophet, and reddened with anger.

"What the bloody hell is this?" asked Draco to himself.

Draco read the article, and it stated how he had helped Potter defeat the Dark Lord, how Draco suggested to use a Patronus, and how he had taken a wound to the side in order to help the Ministry.

_If you speak to any of their former classmates, it is likely that they will say that Potter and Malfoy hated each other, and even if that is the truth, they managed to help each other in ways that many of us would never imagine._

"Ugh, I'm going to kill that bloody Potter…" mumbled Malfoy in a slight rage.

Draco stupidly threw his half full mug of coffee on the couch, and it spilled all over.

"Shit, it's ruined, oh duh…" Draco pointed his wand at the newly formed stain, and it vanished in a flash. 

_Hermione,  
Having lunch with parents. I'll be home in a few hours.  
Love,  
Ron_

Hermione read the note that Ron had placed on the fridge, and slumped on to her couch. She stared at the article again, and then at the picture. Hermione couldn't believe her eyes. She had no idea that Malfoy had helped the ministry, and also couldn't believe that Harry hadn't told her in the six years he had known.

Hermione tied her hair back, and began to do the household chores. If anything could distract her from reading, it was cleaning. 

_Great. Now she knows. Thanks, Potter…_ thought Draco as he threw the paper away except for the front page, which was containing his article.

Draco read the article again, and shuddered. Draco wondered if Hermione even cared, but he decided to avoid the subject in his mind, and placed two pieces of bread into the toaster.

Draco ruffled up his hair, and looked back at the photo album he had been looking at a week previous, and decided to pick it up and look through it in the two minutes while his toast cooked.

Draco looked at all of his pictures of before his sixth year, and noticed how angry, how _cold_ he looked.

_I was a miserable lad I guess…_ thought Draco. Then he flipped through his sixth year picture. He avoided the photo of himself and Hermione as best as he could, but he did look at all of the others.

Draco noticed how at age sixteen, there was a certain happiness about him, and he knew why.

_Hermione_…

Draco then looked at age seventeen pictures, and noticed that he was even _happier_, if that were at all possible…

_What's wrong with me? It's been seven years, Malfoy, get over it…_ Draco thought as he continued to stare at his photos.

When he saw photos of adult-hood, he looked just as miserable as ever.

Draco finally got the nerve to look at the Hermione photos, and realized, he needed her. 

Hermione's mind began to race as she scrubbed each and every dish. Why couldn't she get her mind off of Draco lately? I mean, come on, just because he's in the paper once or twice…

There was also her constant dreaming about him. Although Hermione did indeed love Ron, she noticed her mind would leave him while she slept, and run off with Draco down memory lane. The dreams she had were not only memories though. Once in a while, a long while it would normally be, she would dream of a _current_ romance, of engagement, and marriage, and even as far as children with her first love.

_Those dreams…_ thought Hermione, _are ludicrous_.

When Hermione realized she could just magic the dishes clean, although she had a bad habit of not doing so, she stopped and sat down on her couch again. She stared at the Draco article on the table, and then decided to hide it somewhere. Something told her she couldn't throw it away, but she didn't want Ron going mad over it either.

Hermione placed it somewhere that she knew Ron would never go.

In the vegetable cabinet.

Hermione heaved out a long sigh, and sat down on the couch, and lifted up a new book she had bought in Hogsmeade, _Getting married; a book about fun wedding spells and ideas._

Suddenly, about an hour into her reading, Ron came in suddenly, and whispered, _"Accio Clothing!"_

A suitcase that seamed to already be filled with clothes zoomed into Ron's hand, and Hermione looked at Ron quizzically.

"Where are you going, Ron?" asked Hermione.

"I have to go to Scotland. There seams to be some sort of You-Know-Who supporting nutter over there who keeps claiming he can resurrect him, and it's scarring the Scottish right. I'll be back in a few days…" said Ron. He kissed Hermione on the lips, and rushed out.

"I love you, Hermione. I'll be back soon," said Ron. Hermione waved goodbye, and was actually some what pleased about Ron's absence.

_Good,_ thought Hermione. _Then I don't have to worry about going to visit Draco on his plantation for a few days._


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter 3- Ludicrous_

Draco rubbed his scar once again, and suddenly, his heart began to pound. He didn't know why, but it began to pound loudly.

Some one was coming, and it would change his life forever. 

Hermione was in a rush, and she didn't know why. She also didn't know why she didn't just magically put all of her clothes in her suitcase, but packed them the muggle way. Every trip she made back and forth between her dresser and her suitcase made her even more excited. Hermione had no idea why she chose to go see Draco, considering they hadn't seen each other for seven years.

She then ran to the vegetable cabinet, and grabbed the front page of the news paper that had Draco's photograph on it. She folded it, and placed it in her suitcase. She also placed every little trinket that Draco had ever given her, from every love note to every necklace.

She suddenly stopped when she looked at her ring finger once again. _What am I doing?_ she thought. _I'm supposed to be getting married, and I'm running off to see Draco!_

Hermione sat down on her bed for a moment, and stared at her suitcase, half packed, and then looked around her bedroom. Photographs of herself, Ron, and Harry dawned the walls. There was nothing in this room that _really_ reminded her of Hogwarts.

Hermione thought that maybe Ron had done this on purpose. Maybe to help Hermione forget Draco, and she felt that he had done a pretty good job in helping her forget. 

Hermione lifted up the article again, and stared. Jasper came flying through the window, and stared at his owner for a moment. Jasper knew Hermione was about to do something odd, and he knew that _he_ felt that whatever she was doing, wasn't the right thing. Jasper nibbled on Hermione's index finger, and looked deeply into her eyes.

"I have to do this, Jasper. It's the only way I can know for _sure_ if I'm really ready to marry Ron," said Hermione as she patted her owl on the head. She carried Jasper to his cage, and put it next to her suitcase.

"I heard about that plantation he built a few years ago from Hannah at the hospital…" said Hermione as she closed Jasper's cage door. "Hopefully, we'll be able to find it, right Jasper?"

The owl gave a small hoot, and closed his eyes. Hermione gave one quick glance at her owl, and continued to pack. 

Draco had become board of sitting down on his couch, but he knew he couldn't run off to the pub just yet, it was only eleven thirty in the morning.

Something did seam to keep Draco in his home. After all, it was a reasonably nice day, he could be outside doing _anything_ in all honesty. He could be flying around on his old Nimbus, he hadn't given that a go since his school days, he could apparate to London simply to buy an ice cream, and come right back, but Draco sat in his house, and read. He read books that reminded him of Hermione. Poems and Sonnets about love, and friendship, and beauty.

Draco then heard a sudden tapping on his window, and it was his eagle-owl, Octave.

Draco opened the window and let his owl flutter in to the room. Draco grabbed the letter out of his owl's beak, and allowed the owl to sit on his shoulder as he read the letter.

The message was short, and seamed not to give much information, but Draco was hoping it meant what he thought it meant. 

_Ghosts are not what many of us think, Mister Malfoy. They don't always haunt us, they just come for a visit once in a while. _

So does your past.

Draco grinned, and imagined that it meant that _she_ would come back. That Hermione would come running to his doorstep, and tell him she still loved him no matter what…

But Draco realized how stupid he sounded, and threw the note in the trash along with the newspaper, assuming it was junk mail. 

Hermione checked, re-checked, and checked again that she had everything she would need. She grabbed on to her owl cage, her suitcase, and made sure she was braced for the trip.

Hermione thought to herself over and over again.

_Malfoy Plantation, Malfoy Plantation…_

And in the middle of the large plantation she landed.

Hermione slowly walked on to his porch, having no idea what to expect. Before she knocked on the door, she took a step back and examined the house.

It was very large, and Hermione thought this was quite odd. After all, you'd think after living in a huge mansion all of your life, you would likely be sick of living in large places, but Hermione chose to ignore this and examine the house's beauty. The house was a light green with white shutters, and it looked as if it had many rooms, considering the number of windows there were.

Hermione ultimately decided to stop procrastinating, and made a knocking motion toward the white door. 

But something stopped Hermione. She was shocked to see that there was a strange emblem on the door. It had a snake, of course, but the snake, was red and gold.

Hermione grinned to herself, and almost knocked on the door once again. 

Draco threw his book down, and breathed heavily.

_No way…_ he thought. _No way, she'll never come back to you. You screwed it up, Malfoy. You screwed it up, and she gave up on you. She's in love with Weasley now, and there's nothing you can do about it. You can't change it, even if you go and find her yourself._

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

_Ugh, bill collectors…_ thought Draco. _Maybe if I pretend I'm not here, they'll go away…_

They knocked again, and Draco sat where he was, silent.

The knocking persisted.

"Jesus bloody Christ, I'm coming!" yelled Draco. He slammed his fresh mug of coffee on the coffee table, and walked toward the door.

Draco put on his business face, and opened the door to the last person he expected.

Hermione.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4- _Confrontation and Proposal_

Hermione stared back at him, and stayed silent. Draco, although very taken aback by how beautiful she was, and also compelled to take her in his arm and tell her how much he loved her, just continued to stare.

"What the bloody hell are _you_ doing here, Hermione?" asked Draco, with evidence of a desired grin on his face.

"What do you think, Draco? I'm here to see you," said Hermione, some what nervous.

"Why? What about me do you want to see?" asked Draco as he walked into his living room, not feeling the need to welcome Hermione in. 

Hermione stepped in to the living room, and was hardly surprised to find that the furniture, along with the house, was very plantation styled.

"You're house," began Hermione. "Is gorgeous."

"Thanks, Hermione," said Draco.

Hermione looked around the room again, and sighed. "D'you wanna sit?" asked Draco. Hermione nodded, and sat down on the couch. Hermione looked not at the house or the furniture, but at Draco.

He had certainly changed since she had seen him last. He looked larger, definitely. Hermione assumed he either worked outdoors in order to avoid suspicion from the muggles, or that he drank the strengthening solution regularly, but Hermione was sure that it wasn't the latter. Draco also had some slight stubble, just like he always had, but it looked far more un-managed than it had in their school days. While looking at Draco's chin, she spotted a long scar across his chin, but decided not to comment, and assumed it was from the war. Hermione felt, of course, that Draco looked just as good as he always had.

"You look good, Draco," said Hermione, some what nervously.

Draco grinned, and mumbled, "Thank you…"

Draco had actually avoided really looking at Hermione, but when he finally lifted his head from his hands, and looked at Hermione's face, he learned that she really had grown more beautiful than she was when they were teens.

"You look good too, Hermione…" said Draco, who was highly compelled to tell her that not only did she look good, but _beautiful._

"Thank you…" sighed Hermione as she looked around the room again. Draco continued to stare at Hermione's moving head, and smiled.

"So tell me, Hermione," began Draco. "Why did you _really_ come here?"

"I told you already," said Hermione. "I came to see you."

Draco decided that Hermione would tell him eventually, and chose not to persist on asking about the subject.

"So, you're engaged to Weasley?" asked Draco. Hermione's head shot up at the sound of her fiancé's last name, and nodded.

"Yes, I am engaged to _Ron_, I assume you saw it in the paper?" asked Hermione. Draco nodded, and reached for his coffee mug.

"And, er, I saw _your_ article as well…" began Hermione. Draco looked up into Hermione's eyes, and then he got up.

"Would you like some coffee?" he asked.

"It's just, I dunno…" began Hermione, ignoring Draco's question about coffee.

"I'll take that as a yes. Do you want milk, or sugar?"

"I mean, I _am_ quite surprised that Harry, of all people, never told me…"

"Do you want both? I'll give you both, and you can help yourself,"

"Unless, some one _asked_ him not to tell me…" said Hermione skeptically. Draco stopped.

"God, Hermione, yes! I told Potter not to tell you about my involvement, okay? I didn't want you to know, because I didn't want you going mad about it, I wanted you to forget about me, okay? Does that make you happy, Hermione? Is that why you've come to see me? Because if it is, I guess you can go now…" said Draco in a semi-yell.

Hermione was some what angry about Draco's outburst. Had he possibly become the old Draco after he left her? Was he just angry because the girl he tried to forget has come back, with out warning? When she was engaged to a man he hated? 

"Er, I'm sorry, Draco, for asking about it. Obviously it's a sensitive subject, and I shouldn't have asked about it, so I'll just, er, go then, you obviously don't want me here…" began Hermione, zipping up her purse, leaving Draco holding her mug of coffee.

"Hermione, no, don't!" yelled Draco as she walked toward the door. "I don't want you to go, not yet. I want to, I guess, catch up if you will…" said Draco. Hermione smiled, walked back to the couch, and sat down.

Draco calmed down, and sat down. Hermione giggled. "What?" asked Draco. 

"I dunno, I guess it's just funny, you always managed to have a bit of stubble in school but I think you've, er lost that skill in keeping it perfect I guess…" said Hermione. Draco rubbed the side of his face, and began to laugh along with Hermione. 

"Yeah, I guess I've stopped caring about shaving after school, it's not like anyone important sees me anymore…" said Draco.

Hermione nodded as she looked at Draco. "So, you live in this big house all by yourself?" asked Hermione. Draco nodded, and sat back.

"Yeah, I have friends who stay here sometimes, but nobody else actually _lives_ here. By the way," began Draco. "You _do_ have a place to stay, right?" asked Draco.

"Oh, yes, I'm staying in a motel on the outskirts of the town, I'm just here, er, looking at furniture, antiques," lied Hermione. "And also, to see you."

Draco stopped breathing, just for a moment, and then heaved out a long sigh.

"So, you're getting married to Ron, when's the wedding?" asked Draco.

"Oh, erm, August, the third…" began Hermione.

"Ah, so, you finally got with Ron?" asked Draco chuckling nervously.

"Yes, I did. I was nineteen when we started dating, twenty when he proposed," said Hermione.

"How'd he do it?" asked Draco quickly, hoping that if the girl he loved got engaged, she at least got proposed to the right way.

"It was wonderful," sighed Hermione. "We were walking down Main Street, Hogsmeade, that's where I live, anyway, we were walking, and he was talking about the future. I thought that was odd, but I didn't think anything of it. So then we went into the Three Broomsticks, and we sat down, and he got me a pink butterbeer-"

"Pink butterbeer?" asked Draco. Hermione giggled, and sighed.

"Yes, then he took my hand, and started talking about how much he loved me, and there's me, sitting there stupid, 'I love you too, Ron, I love you too…' then, I dunno, he just kind of, _did it_." 

Draco smiled, and figured, _That's probably how I would have done it, maybe somewhere like a park or something, rather then the Three Broomsticks, but about the same…_

"So, you love him?" asked Draco before he could stop himself. 

Hermione paused, and stared at Draco. _Obviously I do, why would I marry him if I didn't?_ thought Hermione, but she just nodded.

"Yes, I do, very much…" said Hermione. 

Draco, disappointed, but not showing it, smiled and nodded. 

"Good, that's how it should be."

"Right…" said Hermione firmly.

"And we-" began Draco. "We can be friends."

"Exactly…" said Hermione. 

The two talked about a bunch of other things, Draco having little to say, unlike Hermione, who had nothing to do _but_ talk, and Draco fell in love all over again. Listening to her voice, happy and bouncy, while her long, curly hair fell elegantly into her face, and she laughed, and sighed, and even frowned when she was talking to Draco about the deaths of her friends.

"But, I guess that's life…" sighed Hermione. Draco nodded, and took a sip of a butterbeer that he had just grabbed out of the fridge. 

Hermione looked at her watch, and looked up at Draco. "My goodness, I have to go, it's late…" began Hermione.

Draco nodded, and said, "Er, can you to come over tomorrow? There's something I want to show you about this field I have back here. It'll be a bit of a walk, maybe we could fly if I can get my old Nimbus to work… "

Hermione nodded, and said, "Alright, sure, I'll come over. How about three?"

"That's fine," said Draco. Hermione grabbed Draco's hand, and shook it as if she had just done some sort of business, and stared.

"So, tomorrow then!" yelled Hermione as she walked out the door with a hooting Jasper and a full suitcase in her hands.

"Yeah, tomorrow, goodbye, Hermione!" yelled Draco. Hermione waved one last time, and disapparted with a loud _crack_.

"Tomorrow…" mumbled Draco as he walked back into his house, deciding not to go to that pub on the edge of town tonight after all.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5- _Fireflies_

"Ugh, damn Nimbus!" yelled Draco as he continued to kick off from the ground. Draco hadn't ridden it since he took off from the train station all those years ago. He took the slick, black broomstick, broke it in two over his knee, and threw it on the ground in anger. Draco then looked at the broken broom, mumbled, _"Reparo!"_ and it went back to being one solid, not working broomstick.

Draco got on the broom again, and attempted to kick off from the ground, and then finally gave up. "Well, looks like we're walking…" mumbled Draco as he carried the broom into his shed. _It'll be better that way…_ he thought as he stared at his old broomstick. 

Draco looked down at his watch, and realized that Hermione would be there in about an hour. Draco quickly shaved, then showered. He put on clothes from when he was younger, around eighteen (when all he did was party in order to get Hermione off of his mind), which was a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt that read, _The Weird Sisters: Live in Concert_.

Draco looked himself over and grinned, this is how he wanted Hermione to see him, regardless of the fact that he had broken up with her, and forgetting the fact that she was engaged.

Draco looked at his watch again, and sighed. "Ten of three, ten of three, any minute now…"

Draco tidied up the house in the spare time he had. Although he definitely could use one, Draco chose not to use a house-elf because he knew Hermione had always hated the idea of enslaving elves in order for witches and wizards to relax. Draco then poured two cups of coffee, and laid out milk and sugar so that Hermione could make it how she liked. Draco then picked up the book of sonnets he was reading the day before, hoping to give off the impression of being casually prepared.

Then there was a knock on the door. 

Hermione exited her bathroom, wearing her favorite satin robe. She then magically dried her hair, and put it back in a high pony-tail. Hermione then chose to wear a light blue skirt and a white blouse. Hermione checked herself over in her mirror and smiled.

_I dunno why, but I'm so excited!_ she thought. She then grabbed her little white purse and headed out the door, but then suddenly, she stopped.

Hermione walked back into her room, and shut the door. She then sat down on the bed, and closed her eyes. Hermione knew what she was doing was wrong, she knew that she had a fiancé who was clueless to the fact that Hermione was even here, let alone on her way to visit her ex-boyfriend from her school days, obviously wanting something, knowing she would get what she wanted soon enough. 

_But I want to go, I need to go…_ thought Hermione as she grabbed her purse and walked out the door. She left the muggle motel, and walked behind a tree on the street. With a loud _crack_, Hermione disappeared on the spot, and landed right in front of Draco's house.

Hermione put on a large smile, and walked quickly up to the front door of Draco's home, and knocked.

Draco then came to the door, and Hermione could tell he had gotten ready just for the occasion. He looked young, like she remembered him. The only thing that seemed as if it wasn't supposed to be was the scar on his chin. Hermione held out her hand for a shake, and Draco grabbed her hand and responded with a gentle nudge.

"Hello, Hermione," said Draco. "Hello…" sighed Hermione. She stepped in the house, and waited for Draco to show her whatever he wanted to show her.

"I thought we could have something to eat before we go, my Nimbus isn't really working, and I don't want us to get tired…" said Draco nervously. Hermione smiled, and said, "Okay…"

The two sat down on the couches, exactly where they had sat the day before, and sipped coffee. The two talked of how Minister Bagman was doing, about their school days, and about the possible appointment of Ernie Macmillan for the Defense Against the Dark Arts post at Hogwarts.

"I mean, after all, he _was_ in the Order of the Phoenix once he had come of age, and he was always very bright in school…" began Hermione."I'm sure he'll do a fine job as a Professor." 

Draco nodded, and agreed absent-mindedly. He then suddenly looked at the clock above Hermione's head, and realized it was just about time to show Hermione the surprise he had for her.

"Come on, Hermione, I think it's about time for us to head over to the middle of the woods, you're going to love this…" began Draco as he stood up and guided Hermione to follow him out the door. 

The two had been walking for a good fifteen minutes, and Hermione began to look slightly winded. Draco smiled at this, and couldn't help but chuckle, because it reminded him of times at school. "What are you laughing at, Draco Malfoy?" asked Hermione.

"Oh, nothing, I just thought about the time when we were in our sixth year at school, when we had to run from Filch after getting caught snog- er, you know, being where we weren't supposed to be," said Draco, blushing slightly. Hermione giggled and sighed.

"Yeah, we had fun at school, didn't we?" Draco nodded and continued to lead Hermione toward the surprise.

The sun had just finally set, and he knew it would be perfect. Draco couldn't see the moon, and he realized that the clouds outside were stormy. Draco smiled at this, because there was something about Hermione only he knew.

_She loves the rain._

When the wo started to near the area where the surprise lay, Draco quickly looked at Hermione and said, "Close your eyes."

"Draco, that stup-"

"Just close your eyes, Hermione, trust me. You'll love this." 

Hermione did as he was told, and Draco guided Hermione by placing his hands over her eyes, and leading her to the spot.

When they entered the clearing, Draco grinned at the surprise, and lifted his hands off of Hermione's face.

"Can I open my eyes?" asked Hermione.

"Yes, go ahead…" sighed Draco. Hermione lifted her eyelids, and never saw a more beautiful site. 

The trees were filled with fireflies. Hermione had never seen anything like it, and she grinned. It was as if the tree wasn't even there, and that it was replaced by a gigantic light.

"I've never seen fireflies act like this before…" began Hermione. 

"I know, I never understood why they did this either, but I was always glad that they did," whispered Draco. 

Hermione continued to stare at the fireflies. "I've never seen anything so beautiful before…"

Draco continued to watch Hermione's face glow in the light of the fireflies. "Me neither,"


End file.
